Discrete Multitone Modulation (DMT) is a multicarrier modulation technique that provides an efficient means to handle multiple multiplexed data streams. A main motivation for using DMT for data modulation, is its ability to combat both narrowband and impulsive noise. DMT based systems have been successfully used in highspeed wired and wireless modems, and digital broadcast systems.
In DMT, the data to be transmitted over the individual subchannels are obtained via an orthogonal transformation on blocks of input data. At the receiver, the inverse transformation is used to perfectly recover the data, provided no distortion or noise was introduced within the system. In practice, the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and its inverse IFFT are used for modulation and demodulation operations.
There are many competing broadband technologies for high-speed service over the local loop. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology is gaining acceptance as a viable method to meet the continually increasing demand for bandwidth. The various DSL services eliminate the need for expensive infrastructure upgrades, making it very cost effective broadband access for the huge base of installed telephones based on copper wire.
Copper twisted pairs, carrying voice and data service, are packed closely together into binders in a cable. Crosstalk, which is a significant problem especially associated with higher frequencies, results due to the proximity of these lines and significantly limits achievable bit-rates. The energy of modulated signals radiates into adjacent copper wires in the same binder. The problem is intensified when systems within the same binder transmit information over the same range of frequencies.
Some conventional crosstalk mitigation techniques use a crosstalk coupling function that is known to the ADSL receiver. Thus, estimation of crosstalk coupling functions is a critical step in such crosstalk mitigation techniques. Failure to properly identify the coupling function can lead to poor performance. In practice, estimating the crosstalk coupling function is extremely difficult, without coordination within one service (e.g. ADSL) and coordination between services (e.g. ADSL and HDSL).
It is therefore desirable to provide for crosstalk mitigation without the difficult task of reliably estimating the crosstalk coupling function.
The present invention assumes that the crosstalk coupling function is not known, and crosstalk statistics are advantageously used instead in crosstalk mitigation.